Not that AI | Sports Daily Newsletter

You may have seen headlines lately about AI-generated content. First, onlookers mocked media titan Gannett’s high school football recaps in August, and, on Monday, Futurism.com revealed that Sports Illustrated published stories generated by artificial intelligence with fake bylines, headshots, and bios.

Yikes. 😬

So what if AI bots generated “stories” from some of the biggest moments in Philly sports? Mike Sielski took a swing at some of these and imagined what they’d be like — with hilarious results. Read for yourself.

— Maria McIlwain, @phillysport, sports.daily@inquirer.com.

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❓Mike covered a lot of Philly sports memories in his column. Did he get yours? What’s your favorite and why? Email us for a chance to be featured in the newsletter.

Tim Chiarolanza doesn’t care for the word “miracle.” It’s not that he doesn’t believe in them; he just thinks the word is used too casually these days.

But few other words come to mind when you consider the ordeal Chiarolanza went through shortly after becoming Lycoming College’s strength and conditioning coach. Struck by a car while chasing his dog one fall night in 2021, he was left with devastating injuries. “He looked like roadkill,” Chiarolanza’s father, Ron, said. “He was red from head to toe. I thought, ‘Man, this is not good. I don’t know what’s happening here.’”

Mike Sielski chronicles Chiarolanza’s journey from the pavement in Williamsport, Pa., to seven weeks in the hospital to his ongoing rehabilitation.

Michael Clay was busy on Sunday, but it was a good kind of busy. All facets under the Eagles’ special teams coordinator’s purview were performing well, and all played key roles in the comeback win over the Bills, whether it’s Braden Mann’s punts, Britain Covey’s returns, Jalen Carter’s blocked field-goal attempt, or Jake Elliott’s game-tying field goal. But, as EJ Smith writes, strong special teams performances aren’t new this season.

The Eagles got some positive injury news Tuesday as Lane Johnson said he expects to be ready for the game against the 49ers. Johnson had a busy day, also appearing at Northeast High School on Tuesday to discuss mental health.

Meanwhile, the Eagles could be looking to add someone else to the flock, as Shaq Leonard was expected to visit the team.

Next: The Eagles’ gauntlet continues Sunday with a reprise of last season’s NFC Championship game as the San Francisco 49ers visit the Linc (4:25 p.m., Fox29).

The 76ers’ offense is in its next phase, building on the previous regime’s decision to place Joel Embiid at the free-throw line to run the offense from the elbow. Already dangerous as a scorer, the Sixers have made Embiid a deeper threat by adding movement off the ball. That has netted a career-best 6.6 assists per game through 16 games played, including Monday’s triple-double and season-high 11 assists.

The Inquirer’s Gina Mizell breaks down all of Embiid’s assists, and what they say about the Sixers’ offense.

Next: The Sixers play the Pelicans tonight in New Orleans (8 p.m., NBCSP).

The framing of the Mike Trout question is all wrong. It isn’t, “What would it take for the Angels to trade Trout?” It’s, “What would it take for somebody to trade for him?”

David Murphy writes that Trout in a Phillies uniform makes so much sense on so many levels. But if the Phillies are smart, they’ll resist the urge to trade for him.

The Flyers have been playing some good hockey but if they are to keep it up they will need to do so without one of their top young players.

On Tuesday, the team announced Noah Cates will miss 6-8 weeks with a lower-body injury, which Tortorella revealed following last night’s loss to the Hurricanes that Cates has a broken foot. The injury is a blow for the 24-year-old, who had one of his best games of the season on Saturday. While the Flyers didn’t release any specifics on the injury, it may have happened when he limped off after blocking a shot during the second period against the Islanders.

As for last night’s game, the Flyers found themselves on the latter end of a 4-1 final after failing to rebound from an early goal deficit that started in the first period. Once the hottest team in the NHL when it came to first-period goals, the Flyers have not scored in the past four games during that span — while now allowing four. But hey, it wasn’t all bad. Just ask nine-year-old cancer fighter and honorary Flyer for a night, Owen Micciche.

Next: The Flyers will host the New Jersey Devils on Thursday (7 p.m., NBCSP).

All in the family: Archbishop Wood junior Emily Knouse is the first member of St. Joseph’s 2025 recruiting class.

The big picture: A Big 5 championship game berth may be on the line, but a loss for either team won’t define Villanova or St. Joe’s.

Flying away: Temple star quarterback E.J. Warner is entering the transfer portal.

Trotter declares: Another former St. Joseph’s Prep star could be playing on Sundays.

Making moves: Delaware is heading to the FBS and Conference USA starting in 2025.

We asked you: Chuck Bednarik earned All-Pro honors six times. Who is the only other six-time All-Pro in Eagles history?

Answer: D: Reggie White. The defensive lineman was first-team All-Pro every year from 1986 to 1991. Pete S. was first with the correct answer.

We asked you: How has Brian Johnson done in his first season as Eagles offensive coordinator? Among your responses:

Still a work in progress. — Brent G.

Very inconsistent. Needs to run the ball more and more RPO. — Ed R.

Yeah bring him back. the Eagles’ record speaks for itself. — Bill M.

If I [were] to give him a grade for his performance so far this year,I would give him a C. You have to give him his props, as the Eagles are 10-1 and amongst the league leaders in points scored. However, their slow starts have pointed to poor preparation during the week. Thank goodness they have been able to make the in-game adjustments that have been the difference between winning and losing. I have to say though, that the screen pass to Julio Jones he called early in the 2nd half might have been one of the worst play calls I have ever seen!! — Bill R.

Judging Brian Johnson’s performance is not easy. He is an experienced coach, but a rookie offensive coach. The Eagles’ 10-1 record I think comes mostly from the down-and-dirty exceptional defensive efforts when it counts the most. The Eagles are 9th best in total offense, 13th in passing, and 9th in rushing. I think the 13th in passing is a concern considering the talents of Hurts, A.J. Brown, and DeVonta Smith, even without Goedert. Interesting though that although behind the Cowboys and Niners in offensive yards, we are 5th in points scored and of course that tops yards gained any day. There were games when I thought, what are they thinking when it came to play choice, but then in the Buffalo game, I had to say I was very impressed. I think Brian is a great guy who is a work in progress. I hope to see him become an outstanding coach and someday a head coach. — Everett S.

I am not the least bit impressed with Brian Johnson. I think a lot of the ugly wins that the Eagles have had this year could be placed on his shoulders. I can understand in the beginning of the season some of the play-calling could have been due to lack of experience but as the season progresses there doesn’t seem to be any improvement. We shouldn’t have to wait until halftime to make adjustments. The Eagles have three solid running backs in Swift, Gainwell and Scott and it seems that he doesn’t start using them until the third quarter. The first three offensive plays by the Eagles in the Bills game were a failure in play calling. Since when do you have three pass attempts and all three have to be thrown away? I don’t have a good feeling about the 49ers game and Sirianni needs to get Johnson running a better offense in the first half. There are rumors going around that Johnson may be a candidate for a head coaching position. I just don’t see it but if it’s true and he decides to take the job, good riddance. — Skip B.

We compiled today’s newsletter using reporting from Mike Sielski, David Murphy, EJ Smith, Olivia Reiner, Josh Tolentino, Jackie Spiegel, Gina Mizell, Jeff Neiburg, Matt Ryan, Matt Mullin, and Andrew Robinson.

By submitting your written, visual, and/or audio contributions, you agree to The Inquirer’s Terms of Use, including the grant of rights in Section 10.

That’s it from me! Jim will be here tomorrow with all of the top stories in and around Philly sports! — Maria